By RIO ROSE RIBAYA
As the original was published on 5 January 2018
Malaysians love desserts. It doesn’t matter if it’s traditional kuih or Western cakes — there’s a special place for these treats on the dining table. Weddings and birthdays, even coffee breaks and tea times, won’t end on a sweet note without them.
But it’s not just any type of sweets that Malaysians love. They’re particularly crazy about brownies. It’s a fact that surprised business partners Hazwan Yazit and Ee-Lyn Tan when they co-founded The Accidental Bakers in 2011. The bespoke bakery shop customises cakes for special occasions by taking orders from clients online.
The Accidental Bakers rose to popularity for its brownies that have fudgy, gooey cores. Cafés around town that resell Hazwan and Ee-Lyn’s products often run out of their signature dark chocolate and salted caramel brownies. Other bestsellers include the sea salt almond and Nutella brownies.
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“We used to join food markets around town… We would fill half of our table with cakes and the other half with brownies. The brownies always gets sold out first, so then we’ll try to push for the cakes. And it got to a point where we even had to go back to the kitchen to bake a new batch. We would come back with hot ones (just to meet people’s demands),” Ee-Lyn told Lifestyle Asia.
This, Hazwan said, prompted them to open their first Brownies Bar shop at Pavilion KL. Aside from serving as the retail arm of online-based The Accidental Bakers, it offers a pared down menu of brownie goodness. With an impressive 16 flavours, it immediately became the first dessert bar to offer the beloved dessert in Malaysia.
The Brownies Bar is also known for some flavours that are not so chocolatey. The cheese in the red velvet and Gula Melaka balances out the chocolate brownie flavours. It caters to non-chocolate lovers too. If a white chocolate brownie called Blondie won’t get their attention, the pistachio cranberry brownie surely will.
The hands-on business partners also put on their aprons to create special new flavours to celebrate upcoming festive seasons. Much like the Pineapple Tart Blondies. Available next week for the Chinese New Year, it’s a moist white chocolate brownie that’s swirled with rich pineapple jam.
The first brick-and-mortar outlet of Hazwan and Ee-Lyn opened at the Pavilion Elite in Pavilion KL in December 2016. And before it could even turn one, The Gardens Mall hosted a smaller kiosk in August 2017. This did not only boost the brand’s presence in Kuala Lumpur, but also the co-owners’ confidence to expand more aggressively in the next few years.
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The duo attributed this success not only to the wide array of flavours available to entice the sweet tooth. They know it has something to do with the toppings and sauces that only Brownies Bar offer. These allow walk-in clients to personalise the taste of their brownies.
“We also have a customised toppings and sauces, which excite our customers. It doesn’t limit them to just 16 flavours. It creates more buzz,” Hazwan explained.
Aside from letting guests customise their own brownies to suit their personal taste, Hazwan and Ee-Lyn also get extra brownie points for their innovation. Every now and then, they come out with crossbreed products to surprise their clientele. A fresh example of this is the Brookies — a hybrid between brownies and cookies that hold a brownie texture at the centre.
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“We believe that innovation is very important to any business. Since our products are not considered a necessity that everyone has to buy it on a daily basis, we have to make sure that these affordable luxuries are all worth it when they purchase them,” Ee-Lyn said.
Aside from their shops in Pavilion KL and The Gardens Mall, you can now get your hands on these pudgy goodies on food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, Honestbee and Food Panda.
Each brownie retails from RM8. Visit their Brownies Bar flagship store at TL.1.111, Level 1, Pavilion Elite inside Pavilion KL. Or email iwantbrownies@browniesbar.com for inquiries.
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